A frightening overreach of executive power has seen a UNHCR-protected Turkish family reportedly extradited back to Turkey despite a high court stay order in Pakistan.

The brazenness of the family’s abduction in Lahore and the defiance of local and international law by authorities are matched only by the senselessness of the actions. Surely, whatever the imperatives of maintaining a close relationship with Turkey and the regime of President Erdogan, there is no need whatsoever for Pakistan to violate its own laws and international obligations in order to satisfy a foreign agenda.

Indeed, it weakens Pakistan’s case when it comes to legitimate objections by this country to ill-advised actions sought by other states.

The US, for example, has made difficult demands of Pakistan in the past and even countries with which Pakistan has difficult relations, such as India, may try and use the mindless compliance with Turkish demands to put pressure on Pakistan. Surely, a path other than a clandestine extradition operation ought to have been possible in the Turkish family’s case.

Of great concern, too, is the apparent defiance of high court orders.

The superior judiciary has rightly attempted to stake out an equal space among institutions in the country; the system of checks and balances depending on empowered institutions willing and able to protect their constitutional domains. Perhaps there is an official and legally defensible reason by whatever authorities were responsible for the reported extradition, but that explanation must be demanded by the judiciary and it must be publicly presented.

Legal counsel for Turkish families facing the prospect of extradition have claimed that not only has the attorney general stated that UNHCR-protected individuals cannot be deported but that an undertaking to the effect was given to the superior judiciary when the issue arose last September. That pledge is all the more important now that the UNHCR has been reported to have extended the asylum-seekers’ protection to Turkish citizens from November 2017 to October 2018.

Ultimately, the weakening of legal protections of anyone residing in Pakistan affects everyone who resides in the country, citizen and non-citizen alike.

The missing persons issue has been a blight on the rule of law for more than a decade.

Indeed, before the original set of cases could be resolved — the disappearance of alleged militants and Baloch activists — the problem expanded to other sets of citizens.

The recent, highly alarming, disappearances in Sindh are an example of how hesitation by state institutions to firmly push back against illegal measures leads to the gradual expansion of those abuses. While all institutions pay lip service to the rule of law, few appear willing to abide by its true letter and spirit. The latest egregious decision by the state concerning Turkish citizens in Pakistan ought to be the final such example that is permitted or accepted.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017